Wheeled cases and bags

Choose a roll-along suitcase and you're no longer at the mercy of luggage trolleys with minds of their own - nor do you need the strength of Samson. The Good Housekeeping Institute's experts pick the best baggage for wimps

How many times do you repack your suitcase before setting off on holiday? In the Good Housekeeping Institute we did it 25 times - not because we're indecisive jet-setters but to find out how good each of the suitcases and bags was at accommodating a week's worth of clothes and other holiday paraphernalia. Our exotic destination? The narrow streets, cobbles and kerbs around our own headquarters in Soho, London, where bemused onlookers watched us wheel each piece of luggage round a punishing course.

Out of the public gaze, we then dragged each case up and down four flights of stairs. To replicate rain and rough handling in transit, we sprayed them all with water and threw and dropped them 40 times.

So what was all this baggage and what were we packing in it? We'd chosen 19 suitcases in the £20-£200 price bracket, all designed for a one-week trip, plus six slightly smaller trolley bags. Unless space in the boot of your car is an issue, the external dimensions of a suitcase are no guide to usefulness - it's the capacity that matters.

All the ones we tested are designed to hold around 70 litres, which translates roughly into our test load of half a dozen tops and sweaters, two pairs of trousers, a skirt, a pair of shorts, a summer dress, four pairs of shoes, a nightdress, underwear, a large full washbag, two large towels, a sunhat, a travel iron, a swimsuit, a beach bag, and three paperbacks. Some suitcases still had space for an extra sweater or two, though of course you need to be a GHI-standard packer blessed with a case that's expandable to manage that. Our trolley bags ranged from £50 to £175 and all had a capacity of around 65 litres, making them more suitable for long weekends.

Hyper-smart designer-label baggage aside, our test results show that quality - particularly in the form of toughness and useful features - comes at a price. None of the very cheap luggage stood up to our durability tests well enough for us to include any among our recommendations, but if you're prepared to compromise slightly on durability and water resistance, the Tripp Horizon medium upright, £45 (stockists: 020-7014 5853; www.tripp.co.uk), 78/100, and the Marks & Spencer Baseline medium rollercase, £50 (stockists: 0845 302 1234; www.marksandspencer.com), 78/100, are worth considering.

Now you know how much stress and strain we put the cases through, you might imagine that only the rigid ones would survive unscathed, but you'd be wrong. The best soft-sided cases stood up to our tough treatment surprisingly well - although fragile possessions inside are obviously more vulnerable than in a hard case.

It isn't just a matter of hard versus soft, though. In our tests, the thick plastic cases withstood knocks and falls on to unyielding surfaces, while those made from flexible plastic and those with a high-gloss finish suffered noticeable frame damage and splitting - which is one reason we haven't recommended any of these.

In case you're wondering, Good Housekeeping testers do follow their own advice - one of our packing/dragging/chucking experts is even now wheeling one of these recommended suitcases round the south of France.

Overall winner

Antler Tronic Medium Roller-Case, 0020964Price: £139· Weight 4.3kg· Soft sided· Expandable: 77 litres· Integrated combination lock·Strap for attaching extra bags· Adjustable towing handle, two positionsVerdict: This was our best performer, scoring top marks for both durability and manoeuvrability. There's an expandable front section and a removable pocket that doubles as a wash bag. It wheels smoothly on all surfaces, including cobbles, and has a good rubber grip on the towing handle making it comfortable to pull.94/100 - Durable mover. Stockists: 0161 762 5000; www.antler.co.uk

One-week wheeled suitcases

Second best: Samsonite 600 Series Streamline MPC Cuskeel. A40*263Price: £145· Weight: 4.9kg · Soft sided· Expandable: 61-80 litres · Integrated combination lock · Strap for attaching extra bagsVerdict: Excellent handle design - pops up into towing position with no need to use two hands. Case is easy and comfortable to wheel but toppled slightly going down kerbs. The outside fabric absorbed some water although it kept the contents dry. The case has a good range of external pockets but internal straps and integrated locks are a little tricky to use.88/100 - Easy to tow.Stockists: 01895 855 755; www.samsonite.co.uk

Runner up: Samsonite 375 series F'Lite Comfort Fungi 146*074Price: £119· Weight: 5.5kg · Hard sided · 80 litres · Integrated combination lock· Adjustable towing handle, three positionsVerdict: This four-wheeler is exceptionally easy to push around and sturdy when standing upright. It passed all our durability tests with only a couple of minor scratches and didn't let in a drop in our water-resistance test. On the downside, it's a little top heavy making it unstable when packing.87/100 - Tough four-wheeler.Stockists: 01895 855 755; www.samsonite.co.uk

Runner up: Eminent Generation EQO166 Orange 66cm Trolley Case Price: £79· Soft sided· 4.5kg· Expandable: 77-99 litres· Secret pocketVerdict: This soft case bounced back well from our drop tests, suffering only a couple of scuffs, but wasn't very water-resistant. It has a front external pocket and a lockable zipped compartment, big enough for a large wash bag and accessible. The main case is locked so you can extract a change of underwear or sneak in a swimsuit from your last dip without disturbing the rest of your packing. The bright orange version is easy to spot on the carousel - it also comes in black. The towing handle was uncomfortable to hold.84/100 - Ingenious secret pocket. Stockists: 01403 710 717; www.st-c.co.uk.

Runner up: Antler Fizz roller case, 0020964Price: £95· Weight: 3.9kg · Hard and soft sided · 62 litresVerdict: Manoeuvring this compact case was a breeze - it handles kerbs and stairs with ease. It also scored top marks in our durability tests. The hand grip is particularly comfortable to hold as it swivels with the movement of your wrist, making it easy to pull along - despite the fact that that the towing handle doesn't lock into position. Long zips make it effortless to close but there are no side handles, which could make it hard to scoop up off the carousel.84/100 - Compact and easy to manouvre.Stockists: 0161 762 5000; www.antler.co.uk

Best trolley/duffel bags

Joint winner: Tripp International Large Wheeled Duffel 28115 (Debenhams only)Price: £50· Weight: 3.5kg· 64 litresVerdict: This was the cheapest trolley bag we tried, yet it earned the highest score in our performance tests. It has an excellent zip that allows the whole of one side to open out, making packing easy. It also has useful internal straps to hold all your belongings in place. It wheeled brilliantly on all surfaces and survived the durability tests with only minor scratches.91/100 - Well designed bargain.Stockists: 020-7014 5853;www.tripp.co.uk

Joint winner: Delsey Carisma 65cm Trolley Travel BagPrice: £175· 3.3kg· 62 litresVerdict: Joint winner in our performance tests on trolley bags, this holdall handles kerbs with ease. It comes with two small cloth bags, one for dirty laundry and the other to fit shoes up to size 12. Apart from price, the main letdown is the light coloured fabric, which got quite dirty after just one use.91/100 - Smooth runner.Stockists: 020-8731 3530;www.delsey.com

Joint runner-up: Marks & Spencer Spirito large wheeled kit bagPrice: £59· 2.5kg· 65 litresVerdict: This bag zips into two layers, opening out almost like a suitcase, making it ideal for separating dirty laundry from your clean clothes. It's one of the lightest bags tested, and it performed well in durability and manoeuvrability tests although it tends to tip over when resting on its wheels.88/100 - Light and sporty.Stockists: 0845 302 1234;www.marksandspencer.com

Joint runner-up: Samsonite 600 series streamline MPC Flounder, A41*066Price: £125· Weight: 3.7kg · 66 litres This smart travel bag was excellent at manoeuvring over the cobbles and kerbs we tested it on, and was very stable when resting in the upright position on its wheels. Its padded fabric sides helped it retain its original shape even when empty, and the bag scored top marks for water resistance. On the downside, it suffered slight fabric damage by the end of our durability tests.88/100 - Smart and stable.Stockists: 01895 855 755;www.samsonite.co.uk

Frequently Asked Questions

Are hard suitcases a better buy than soft-sided ones? Not necessarily - the top-scoring cases in our tests are a mixture of the two. There was no correlation between the material the cases were made from and ease of packing or manoeuvrability, although it does make a difference to their durability - and, of course, how well they're likely to protect your belongings.

When there are rows of similar-looking suitcases, what details should I be checking out? Some are matters of personal preference, but look out for these:

Integrated locks and name tags A streamlined case without dangling tags and padlocks is less prone to damage, and a lock with a combination you can set provides more security than a padlock or key.

Zipped expandable sides Perfect for shopaholics, some soft-sided cases have a third more space inside when expanded.

Four wheels Cases with four wheels are effortless to wheel - you can even push rather than pull - and they're more stable.

Pockets Most soft-sided cases have at least one external pocket, and many have internal pockets of one type.

Protective studs These not only protect the shell of high-gloss finish or soft-sided cases but also help shield the contents from damage.

· Next month's product test will be barbecues. For subscriptions to Good Housekeeping call 01858 438844 or visit goodhousekeeping.co.uk.